1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ladder accessories. More particularly this invention relates to a caddy that is connectible to the end of an extension ladder for holding and providing user ease of access to tools and like implements when working atop the ladder. Even more particularly, this invention relates to a tool caddy that, in use, stabilizes the ladder to increase the safety of the user, protects the structure being worked on from injury by engagement by the upper end of the ladder, and acts as an aid in positioning the ladder at an optimum angle relative to the ground and the structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Every year many persons are injured, while working on ladders, both at home and at construction sites. When working on a ladder it is often desirable for the user to have a convenient place to store various items, such as tools, small parts fasteners, liquid containers, brushes and the like in a readily accessible location. For example, workers have secured their tool pouches to the top rung of the ladder to facilitate access. However, this approach is awkward in that tools may drop or the pouch is inadequate to hold the tools necessary for the job to be performed.
Obviously, the top end portion of the ladder is a desirable location for positioning such tools. However there is danger in the worker having to reach down or away from the ladder because such movement could cause the ladder to sway.
Desirably, a ladder when positioned relative to a structure to be worked on should be stabilized.
Further, the top end of the ladder should not rest against weak upper surfaces. Additionally, if abutted against the structure being worked on, the ladder may mar or otherwise injure the exterior surface thereof. To obviate this latter situation, in some applications, a worker will place a rag, mitten or other cushioning member and the like about the upward extension of the ladder sides.
Provision of a ladder and/or accessory therefor that protects the structure from engagement with the ladder, stabilizes the ladder in relation thereto, and provides the user with ease of access to tools and the like to enable working on the roof, windows, gutters, etc. is desirable.
Importantly, the ladder should be at a proper angle to the structure being worked on. The proper angle for an extension ladder is achieved by setting the base out approximately one quarter of the ladder's height. For example, a sixteen-foot ladder should be set up with the base 4 feet out from the wall. Setting an extension ladder at too steep an angle makes for a difficult climb and increases the ladder's tendency to slide to the side or to tip over backward; setting it at too shallow of an angle increases the risk of the ladder dropping out from under the worker.
The American National Standards Institute recommends setting ladders at a 75.5° angle. Further, researchers at Liberty Mutual report that adjusting a ladder's angle a mere 10° degrees from 75° to 65° almost doubles the friction required to hold the ladder in place. If you increase the worker's climbing speed, the friction required jumps again by 7 percent.
However, in the real world, most workers have no way to measure ladder angle and have to frequently have to move the ladder into new work positions. A ladder accessory that enables the worker to have some indication of the ladder orientation including whether the rungs are level to the ground would be desirable.
Various accessories for use with a ladder have been suggested, such as in the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,632 to Brown, issued Dec. 22, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,446 to Perbix, issued Feb. 23, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,601 to Schmidt, issued Jul. 2, 2002; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,359 to Logiudice, issued Sep. 20, 1995; as well as U.S Patent Publication Nos. 2002/0134619 Schwenke, published Sep. 26, 2002; 2005/0045421 to Gaines, published Mar. 3, 2005; and 2006/0266583 to Jones, published Nov. 30, 2006, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. However, none of theprior art addresses ease of access to tools while preventing injury to the working surface as well as providing ladder stabilization.
Thus, there is an ongoing need for improvements relating to the safe and effective use of a ladder.
The primary objective of this invention is the provision of a ladder accessory that enables the worker to place work tools atop a ladder and in position for use, protects the structure being worked on while assuring tool access, stabilizes the ladder by inhibiting lateral sway, and enables rapid estimation of the fact that the ladder is approximately at the optimum angle relative to the structure for safe use.